Photos
by hlp
Summary: Movieverse. Tony/Pepper of course.
1. Files

Files

He noticed it as he was walking up from his basement to the kitchen. She had left it on the coffee table as she went in search of a file folder. He didn't like the look of it at all.

"Jarvis, what is the performance on this thing," he said pointing to Pepper's very used laptop.

"I have kept it running at peak performance within the confines of its hardware," Jarvis noted.

"How old is it," he asked and he picked it up and began to examine it with a mix of horror and disgust on his face.

"1 year, 153 days, 11 hours and 4 seconds, sir."

He noted the keyboard was so worn that he could hardly see the letters on the keys, not that Pepper needed them. The exterior was scratched and there even seemed to be signs that she may have dropped it on more than one occasion, whether accidentally, or after he IM'd her one to many times from the basement quoting song lyrics.

"Well this just won't do Jarvis! I can't have my assistant wandering around in public with this," he said has he laid it back down on the table and then wiped his hands on his jeans as though it was going to give him some sort of disease. As someone who liked everything new and shiny, the latest and greatest, he could barely look at the thing.

"Jarvis, please order the very top notch laptop there is, with all the bells and whistles, and have them put a rush on it," he ordered the A.I. "And have it delivered here, to me. It will be a surprise," he added as he wandered back into the kitchen to see if there was any leftover pizza from the night before.

With three slices in hand and not even bothering with a plate he headed back downstairs. "Oh, and Jarvis? You know that blue gown Pepper wore a few weeks ago? Order the laptop in that color."

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She didn't know why she was practically ordered to go out and pick-up the chinese food on Friday afternoon but here she was driving around in circles trying to find a parking place. She got the feeling that Mr. Stark was trying to get rid of her so he could do some crazy experiment without her trying to stop him from killing himself.

She left strict instructions with Jarvis to try and not let Tony do anything stupid while she was gone. His only response was a, "I always try, Ms. Potts."

That wasn't very reassuring.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tony had gotten the new laptop the night before. After charging the battery he finally figured out how to get Pepper out of the house without her laptop.

Of course he picked the farthest away restaurant as he could find and didn't ask her to go get it until everyone else was on the road for their lunch hour.

He didn't think this would take very long but he just wanted to make sure. Most of the items she worked on should be on the company server but he didn't know how many of his private files she kept on the laptop.

He told Jarvis to keep an eye out for Mrs. Potts as he plugged the laptops together and turned on the new one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well that only took two hours!" she practically yelled as she walked into the house but it was so quiet that she knew Tony must still be downstairs.

"Jarvis?" she asked quietly, afraid of the answer, "is Mr. Stark still here?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts. He is currently in his lab working on upgrades to the stabilizers."

"No injuries or property damage?" she asked incredulously.

"No, everything is fine, Ms. Potts."

"Okay then…" she said, still suspicious "tell Tony that the food is ready. Does he want me to bring it down?"

It was silent for a moment as Jarvis was talking to Tony.

"He says that he will be up in a moment."

She set the boxes out on the counter, grabbed her box of sweet and sour chicken and some chopsticks and headed back to the couch to finish up her e-mails before she went home for the weekend.

She stopped short at the shiny new laptop that was sitting on the coffee table with a ridiculously huge red bow on it.

She sat down slowly, stunned. She didn't even reach for it; she just continued to stare at it.

"You like it?" asked Tony as he stepped up behind her slightly bouncing on his toes like a child waiting for praise.

He had a smile on his face and it made him feel good that not only did he notice she needed something but he went out of his way to get it for her. The old Stark would have just ordered to get a new one herself.

"Where's my old one?" she asked quietly still trying to stay as far away as possible from the new one.

"You don't like this one? I transferred all your files over, set-up your e-mail and all of that," Tony said trying to reassure her, although his smile had fallen from his lips. This was not how this was supposed to go. She was supposed to be happy. Maybe even some jumping up and down and dare he even think it – a hug.

"Tony please, please tell me you still have the old one," she said on the verge of panic and tears.

Silently he went and retrieved it from his office, laying it down on the couch beside her. She immediately grabbed it and held it to her chest as if it were a lost pet that found its way back home.

"Thank you Tony," but then she noticed he had gone back down to his work room.

"Oh," she said to no one in particular. She would have to apologize later. Right now she had to make sure her files were still there.

Once her old laptop had booted up she asked Jarvis to move the file folder to the new computer.

"But Ms. Potts, the folder has already been copied to the new computer by Mr. Stark."

She felt like fainting. Not only did she hurt his feelings by not being appreciative of the new laptop, now he saw her folder.

"Are you sure Jarvis?" she asked as she brought up the folder on the new laptop and opened it.

Jarvis was right, there they all were, all 237 of them.

"I thought this folder was hidden," she said mostly to herself as she began looking through the files.

"It was Ms. Potts but Mr. Stark is anything if not thorough," Jarvis responded.

There they all were, eight years of photos. Her and Tony, just Tony, just her, Tony and Rohdey, Her and Rohdey all still safe and sound. Her family for the last eight years still there to look at when she started thinking about her biological family.

She barley heard Jarvis response as her attention had become fixed on a newly added photo.

She opened it to find it was her in her blue dress. She had just gotten out of the town car and was walking into the event. She didn't even notice anyone had taken her picture.

"You're not the only one who keeps photos you know," said Tony who had snuck back upstairs and was now standing behind the couch again.

Pepper was so startled that the laptop fell from her hand as she jumped in fright.

Tony nearly fell over the back of the couch to catch it. "Now Ms. Potts I expect this computer to last you more than one day," he joked as he set the laptop safely on the couch.

Having gotten over her initial shock, Tony didn't see it coming when she climbed back on to the couch on her knees so that she was facing him. The back of the couch the only thing separating them and nearly threw herself around his neck, once again almost knocking him over the couch with surprise.

"Oh Tony thank you, thank you, thank you. The laptop is wonderful, your computer skills are wonderful and the new photo is wonderful," she whispered into his ear still not letting go of his neck making him a little light headed and wishing there wasn't a couch in-between them.

She let go of him quickly once she realized how uncomfortable the atmosphere had become.

"Thank you Tony, it meant a lot to me," she said quietly as she got off the couch, looking everywhere but at him.

He could see she was back to business. "You know you can actually print some of those out and put them in frames," he teased her, trying to lighten the mood.

"I do have pictures! They're at my house, you've just never been there that's all."

"Is that an invitation Ms. Potts?" he asked as he came around the couch to face her.

She started to blush. "No, Mr. Stark, just an observation."

"Your office has always looked a little empty," he commented to her hoping to get her talking again.

"Well my space at Stark industries is just a very large desk outside your office and here, well this is your house. I wouldn't feel right putting my personal stuff around."

"You work here and you are my friend, this is your space to," he said seriously as he moved toward her, gently lifting her chin up to look into her eyes.

"Of course Mr. Stark," she said nervously as she tried to swallow the lump that had caught in her throat. His face was so close.

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Monday morning found Pepper Potts staring at the once empty wall of her office in Mr. Stark's home. It was now cover floor to ceiling with framed pictures. Some that belonged to her, some that must belong to Tony and even a few from Rohdey.

She had to shut her office door so Tony wouldn't see her cry.


	2. Coming Home

I have decided to continue this story as connected one-shots. Each new chapter will be a recollection from one of the characters on a different picture on the wall.

I will try to explain in this chapter why Pepper got so emotional at the end of the last chapter.

On with the story…

- Coming Home –

"Well Jarvis, how did she like them?" Tony asked as he was working in the basement. He had already been informed that she had arrived for the day and he had tried his hardest to wait as long as he could before asking Jarvis her reaction.

"She is…touched, sir."

Tony heard the pause in the AI's response. "What's wrong?"

"She seems to be a little emotional, sir."

"Just great," he muttered to himself as he headed for the stairs. He now regretted adding that last photo.

The photo wasn't the biggest on the wall, it wasn't even in the center but it had drawn her attention because it was slightly blurry and fuzzy.

Taking a closer look she realized what she was looking at.

James was in the shot, still having all his gear on minus his helmet and it looked as though he may have been taking the picture himself the way his arm was angled and how close-up the shot was.

He had his arm around Tony. It looked like a half hug as well as support to hold Tony upright.

James was smiling with a look of pure relief on his face.

Behind Tony's shoulder she could just make out an open door with bright light pouring in.

It must have been them in the helicopter right after they found Tony in the desert. That would explain the blurriness of the photo.

Tony was trying to smile in the picture through the obvious pain he was in. He was dirty and bloody, and looked about 20 lbs lighter than he did when he left. But he looked determined. Determined to smile for the photo, determined that he wasn't going to give up after coming this far even though there was a gapping whole in his chest. And now looking back on it a determination to be a better person.

"I kept asking him to call you but he said we wouldn't be able to hear each other over the helicopter. I had to wait until we landed at the base." Tony noted as he had been able to walk up behind her without her noticing.

She cursed herself for not locking the door after she closed it. She didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't let anyone see her like this.

"Then once we landed they took me straight to the hospital. They still wouldn't let me call you. Rhodey promised me that he would call and I know he did but it just wasn't the same."

She wished he would just be quiet as it was getting harder and harder for her to keep fresh tears from forming.

"If you don't want it here I can take it down. Rhodey made me promise to take it down if it upset you."

She couldn't take it anymore. At this moment she didn't care if she was at work. This wasn't Mr. Stark her boss, it was Tony, her friend.

She turned to face him, still crying and just not caring anymore. She leaned into him and he put his arms around her, her hands resting on the arch reactor.

"You came home," she stated as if she still couldn't believe it, as if him standing there with her didn't make that obvious.

"Yeah, I came home," he said quietly looking over her shoulder at the photo.

The first thing Pepper did at work that day was to sit down and send a very long thank you e-mail to James.


	3. Chapter 3

Beach –

"You ready?" he asked as he stepped into Pepper's office.

"I've been ready," she stated as she hit send on one last e-mail message and stood up from her desk.

"Hey that's from the first time we were down there!" he exclaimed as he saw a small picture off to the right a little bit higher than eye level.

"Ugh! Don't remind me. And the day had started off so well."

"Well, it was an adventure that's for sure."

Flashback

_She had been Tony's assistant for two years already, yet she continued to keep him and Rhodey at arms length. She came to work, did her job and went home._

"_Come on guys! I just got back and the beach is right there. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen sand that is actually attached to water instead of just sand that is attached to more sand? You guys need a break anyway."_

_He didn't have to convince Tony that much, considering there was a board meeting that day that he would rather cut off his arm than attend. "I'll go get my shorts," Tony exclaimed as he bound up the stairs like he was five years old._

"_Don't you have to go home and get some shorts?" Pepper asked Rhodey._

"_Nope, have them in the car already."_

"_So you knew Tony would say yes?"_

"_I knew he had a Board meeting today so I pretty much figured it would be a yes."_

"_I have to reschedule that you know," Pepper said with an exasperated sigh at Rhodey's admission._

"_Sorry about that," he apologized sincerely. "You better hurry up and get into your swimsuit. Do you have one here or do you have to go back to your house?"_

"_Oh, no Colonel Rhodes, I couldn't possibly. There is so much I have to finish before I can go home."_

"_Ms. Potts," Tony stated as he came back down the stairs already in his shorts, "you will do no such thing. You have the rest of the day off and I don't want to hear any arguments. Now go grab a swimsuit, preferably one of the thong variety and get back here ASAP."_

_She opened her mouth to argue but with the look that both of them were giving her all she could do was turn around and head for the door, feeling slightly dizzy by being blindsided like this._

_She would have actually gone to the store and bought a new bathing suit if they hadn't been calling her every five minutes since she left Mr. Stark's house telling her to hurry up. As it was, she had to settle for digging out her old blue one piece from the back of her closet, some flip flops she bought at Target for five buck about four years before, and a large T-shirt as a cover up. She grabbed her sunscreen and the largest towel she could find and headed back – hoping to not get made fun of much with her outfit._

_They were already out at the shore and somehow managed to gather up some snacks and drinks. She didn't even think Tony knew where his kitchen was._

_For the record they didn't make fun of her or her suit. They usually teased her in a good natured sort of way, but they knew that being down here with them was way out of her comfort zone._

_While she put on her sunscreen and, after much complaining, they put some on too they shared stories with her (at least the ones they could tell her that wouldn't cause her to quit), and asked about her life. Some things she would answer and some she wouldn't but they were just happy they were finally getting her out of her shell. They liked her, not only on a professional level, but as a person and wanted to get to know her better._

_The rest of the time was spent in the water, with Pepper being afraid of going in over her ankles (until Tony called her a chicken, which, as soon as he said it he and Rhodey were afraid she was going to go back in the house). Instead she swam out to meet them, dunked Tony's head in the water and explained to them that she was not currently and never had been a chicken, thank you very much._

_They stayed out there for a while, playing like little kids while Tony and Rhodey proceed to outdo each other trying to impress her with crazy water acrobatics._

_She was getting tired and told them she was headed for the shore to get some sun and dry out. _

_Just then Tony spotted something in one of the outcroppings of rocks. "Hey, look at that! I think there's a cave over there."_

"_Yeah, I think your right, let's go check it out," Rhodey replied, equally as excited._

"_I'm still going back to the shore; I'm too tired to climb up rocks."_

"_Okay, we're going to go check it out," they didn't argue with her because she did look tired. She did more in one hour than most people did in an entire work day, and she had already been at work for five hours before Rhodey showed up at the door. Plus they figured she was probably still stressed out thinking about all the items she wasn't getting done while they were down here, "but don't go back in the house!" Tony ordered._

_Pepper woke up later, surprised that she had even fallen asleep in the first place, to having water being dropped on her. At first she figured it must just be Tony or James standing over her, but as she opened her eyes she saw black clouds above her and even lighting out in the distance._

_She jumped up instantly in horror as she ran toward the ledge that over looked the cave._

"_Tony!! James!!," she screamed at the top of her lungs as she lay down with her head hanging over the ledge. They would all look back at that and realize that that was the first time she had called them by their first names. Apparently it took an emergency for her to let go of all professionalism._

"_Help!" she heard from below._

_She ran to the house as fast as she could._

_So there she was, in her swim suit standing in the back door of Mr. Stark's house yelling for the AI to get rescue crews there in the next 60 seconds. The AI did surprising well because by the time she ran back down to the beach, falling numerous times in the wet sand, to the ledge over looking the cave she already heard helicopters above her._

"_Hold on!!" she screamed again hoping they could hear her._

_The rest of the evening was spent pulling Tony and Rhodey from the cave, having the medics take care of any first aid, and explaining to the fire chief what they were doing in the first place and finally Tony writing out a check for the cost of the rescue efforts._

_Once they were in the house and in dry clothes they were all very quiet, Tony and Rhodey out of embarrassment and Pepper out of guilt._

"_I'm sorry!" she exclaimed suddenly, not being able to hold it in anymore, "I shouldn't have fallen asleep while you to were still out there. I don't know what happened; I never fall asleep during the day!"_

_They were just looking at her in utter surprise which she took immediately as rejection of her apology, "I'll just get my things and go. I'm glad you're both alright," she stated quietly as she started to head for the stairs to her office._

_Suddenly she was caught in a hug with four arms (two of Tony's and two of Rhodey's) and they were actually laughing at her._

"_You saved our sorry asses. We would have still gone out there and got caught in that storm even if you were a thousand miles away," Rhodey explained._

"_You're not going anywhere and you're not packing up anything. The storm is still going strong and no one is driving out in it," Tony added._

_Suddenly Rhodey noticed that they still hadn't let go of her, which she had realized quite awhile back and was trying to figure out how to politely point out, and let go over her with a quick, "oh, sorry."_

_Tony let go of her to, but didn't look sorry in the least._

"It's in the top 10 most humiliating experiences of my life," Pepper noted dryly.

"Top 10? It wasn't number one?" He asked, surprised.

"I work for Tony Stark. It's up there but not even close to number one."

He chuckled at that, causing his arm to brush lightly onto hers.

She wished he would stop doing that. He was very distracting (in a good, hot sort of way) standing there in just some board shorts and no shirt on. What made it worse was that he was usually a very modest person. She couldn't help but notice even when he just took his shoes off in the house, let alone only having one article of clothing on.

Not that she was much better in her 10,000 black two piece with real diamonds. She could see out of the corner of her eye that he was looking at her, but only occasionally and she was just going to take it as a complement because, well, that's what it honestly was.

"As I remember, you got that bathing suit out of it as an apology," he stated pointing at her suit.

"Well, humiliating experience number one got me my condo, so I guess my dignity has a price," she responded with a grimace on her face. Seeing the curiosity on Rhodey's face and added quickly, "I'd rather not talk about it."

"That's okay," Rhodey teased, "I'll just ask Tony," and with that he ran out the door and down the hallway toward Tony's room.

"NOOOOO!" she yelled as she took off after him as quickly as her five dollar Target flip-flops could carry her, both of them laughing all the way as the tumbled into Tony's room.


	4. Bat

Bat -

"No," she said in her best "I'm Serious So Drop It" sort of voice, even though 99.9 of the time it didn't work on Tony. Ironically enough 99.9 of the time it did work on everyone else.

She _had_ been in a good mood. Getting to her office at 5am on Friday so that hopefully she could start her weekend early. But she hadn't even been able to set her purse down before Tony started talking to her through the house speakers.

"Are you still in the basement, and did you get up early or did you stay up late?" she asked trying to change the subject as JARVIS booted up her computer for her.

"For you Ms. Potts I could do both," he said in his most charming and flirting voice.

With a loud sigh she amended her statement, "Okay…did you wake up early or did you go to sleep late?"

"Hmm…Ms. Potts, I think you are trying to change the subject," succeeding in not answering her question even though the tiredness of his voice answered it for her.

"The weather is horrible and the city is depressing," she added quickly trying to head this conversation off so she could get to the five billion things she had to do today.

"It's summer this time and I heard the city is going through a major redevelopment. Come on it will be fun."

"It wasn't fun the last time."

"The party starts at 7 tomorrow night so I think you need to schedule the jet to take off about 2 this afternoon. That way we can get into the city and relax before you're whirlwind shopping spree on Saturday morning," he stated, totally ignoring her last comment.

"Oh, so you're not going to do that for me like last time," she said sarcastically as she was answering e-mails.

"That was an emergency and I thought you appreciated the gesture."

"The dress you bought made me look like one of your tramps," she noted sourly as she pushed the send button a little to forcefully on an e-mail, "it was your fault I need it in the first place."

"I already apologized for that. And if you hadn't been stomping around the apartment in that huge ball gown you wouldn't have knocked over my coffee."

"Yeah and I thought you were really going to make it up to me by having a replacement sent up. Instead I got that hideous red dress I had to wear. And the only reason I still went is because I had already RSVP'ed."

"I didn't have much time to work with Ms. Potts and I thought it was hot, so did everyone else. If you look at the small picture to the right of the biggest one on the wall you can see for yourself. Even the host appreciated it."

"Which is exactly why I don't want to go," she reiterated as she found the photo of her in a short red evening dress as a man with the most haunting eyes she had ever seen had his arm wrapped around her waist. She had a smile on her face that only Tony could tell was fake.

"Oh, did something happen between you to?" Tony asked half joking and half hoping she would answer in the negative.

"No, of course nothing happened! I just didn't like the fact that he is with a different woman every time I see him and he spent that whole night hitting on me when his girlfriend was there."

"Aren't you used to that with me?"

"First of all you're my boss so no matter how much I don't like it, it's my job. Second of all at least you're honest about it. A one night stand is a one night stand. He tries to act all noble having a real "girlfriend" even though he gets rid of each at an outstandingly high rate of speed."

There was a loud clanging noise and some cursing from Tony before he resumed the conversation. She was going to have to go down there pretty soon and force him to take a break.

"It _was_ you're job. You don't have to do it anymore."

He had said it quietly but she could tell she made him upset. And he was right, since he came back she hadn't had to escort anymore women out of the house. She didn't know if that was because he just did it himself now or if there weren't any women to escort but she appreciated the fact that she didn't have to deal with it anymore.

"Sorry, Tony. You're right," she said suddenly completely focused on his reaction.

"Well, you can always make up for it by getting the jet ready and going home and packing," he said in a much better mood, giving Pepper the distinct feeling that the emotions he showed just seconds ago might have been a trick.

"Ugh!! I really hate you sometimes, you know that?"

"You know you love me," was Tony's response before getting back to work. The fact that Pepper just broke the connection without denying it had him smiling for the rest of the day.

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"Tony," she exclaimed as she quickly came toward him, snagging the martini he held out to her as she returned to the bar from mingling, "you are not going to believe what I just found out," she continued as she pulled on his arm roughly to get him to follow her to the balcony.

"I love it when you get aggressive," Tony smirked as she turned to face him.

She decided to ignore the comment since she was having a lot more fun now than she had had at the previous party.

"I was just talking to Mr. Wayne's current girlfriend and she said that most of the time he does not dump his girlfriends. _They dump him_. She says that she has been trying extra hard to be understanding of his work schedule but she barely sees him. And when she goes by his house, his butler tells her he's at work and when she goes by his job they tell her he is at his house. She is getting the feeling he might be cheating on her."

"See this is why even if I hadn't told the world my secret I would have told you…eventually."

"Tony, what are you talking about?"

"Bruce is Batman," he said in the most absurdly matter a fact voice.

Pepper immediately clamped her hand to his mouth as her eyes widened and she looked around even though the balcony was totally deserted.

"What is wrong with you?? Don't start rumors like that! You don't know he's Batman."

She pulled her hand away and glared at him as he had taken the opportunity to kiss the palm of her hand.

"Oh come on. Put two and two together here Pep. Tormented soul, disappearing when bad things are happening, crazy hours – sound familiar? Plus I had Jarvis analyze his and Batman's eyes from camera footage and surprise surprise, a perfect match."

"Ms. Potts I guarantee that if you keep standing there with your mouth open another tongue might find its way in there."

She shut her mouth with a slight jump out of her shock. "Sorry, that is just a lot to take in. Kind of makes me feel sorry for him now."

"Not to sorry I hope!"

"Don't worry. I would much rather be proud of someone than feel sorry for them," she said with a small warm smile as she held out her hand to him and headed for the main room to rejoin the party.

Before they could get back to mingling, or at least drinking, one of the staff of the evening approached them.

"The reporter from the Daily Planet is here for the interview you have scheduled."

"Oh, do I have to?!" Tony exclaimed as he turned back to Pepper effectively dismissing the messenger.

"You promised him you would answer a couple of questions the next time you were out east," Pepper reminded him.

"But he is such a klutz. The last time he knocked my whole glass of scotch right onto my suit," Tony whined.

"Don't worry. I left the red dress in the apartment, just in case" she laughed.

Authors Note – First of all, thank you for all of the reviews. Second of all, I know the picture didn't tie in to much but I hope it gave a little background. Third of all, I have no idea if these people are supposed to be in the same universe so please be kind.


	5. Sun

- Sun -

"Tony, can you come up here for a minute?" she announced as she had JARVIS patch her into the basement from upstairs.

"Rmmph," was the muffled response she got.

"Are you working on the cars again?" she asked in disbelief. He stayed down in that basement so much that she was sure she could jack up the house and move it somewhere else and he wouldn't even notice.

"Just the hotrod, Ms. Potts. What can I do for you?" he said in a less muffled but more frustrated voice.

"Hold on since you aren't going to come up here," she answered as she got JARVIS to project the image onto the blank wall in the basement.

"What is this suppose to be a picture of?" she asked as he looked up to a framed photo of just a red square.

He chuckled quietly to himself before he answered, "must just be a bad photo, replace it with something else."

"Mr. Stark, you wouldn't have put up a bad picture AND I heard that laugh. What the heck is it?"

Then there was a loud sigh from Tony, "don't you remember your medical emergency in the limo a long time ago?"

"Oh God!" she exclaimed as her fingers reached up the touch the photo.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Something was off about her today but he couldn't place a finger on it. She seemed to be moving slower, more graceful, if that were even possible._

_And she was only making small movements. When she dropped some papers on the floor and bent down to pick them up he could even see a grimace on her face for less than a second before she suppressed it._

_He bent down to help her, not only because he could see that something was wrong with her but also so that he could look her in the eyes, maybe get her to tell him what the problem was._

_She didn't offer up any information though, just a look of relief that he was helping her and a quiet thank you once he had handed her papers back to her._

_The final straw was when they were getting ready to leave for the press conference. He put his hand lightly on her back so that she could get in the limo first and she let out a gasp. It didn't seem to be one of pleasure either, much to Tony's dismay (even for him that would have been impressive.)_

_Once inside the limo things only got worse. Every time they went over a bump or she had to lean over to hand him something pain washed over her face._

"_Ms. Potts are you alright?" he asked dead serious as his dark eyes bore into hers. He had waited until she had leaned over to give him something to ask her so that he could gauge her reaction._

_Her eyes widen slightly but she was able to quickly regain her composure. "I'm fine Mr. Stark," she tried to answer convincingly. Unfortunately as she was pulling away from him they hit another bump in the road causing her to grimace once again._

"_Ms. Potts, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked suddenly with an amount of suspicion and just a tiny hint of anger._

_That question threw her off, "no..no, not at the moment."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_I think I would have noticed, Mr. Stark."_

_He had enough, "something is wrong with your back Ms. Potts," he held up his hands to stop her from interrupting, "and I want you to tell me what it is."_

"_Nothing, Mr. Stark. Now can we get back to reviewing these files before we get to the board meeting?" she answered with her voice a tad bit higher than usual._

_With that Tony got the most dangerous look in his eye. Without removing his piercing gaze from her he lowered the partition of the limo and with a perfectly calm voice addressed Happy._

"_Pull over somewhere safe and lock the doors," he could already see in her panic that her hand was hovering near the door handle. At his remark to Happy she pulled it away quickly like a kid caught with their hand in a cookie jar._

_Once the limo was stopped Tony addressed Happy again. "Now stop the car and get back here."_

"_Yes sir," Happy responded like this was an everyday occurrence._

"_Oh, so now you're ganging up on me?" she asked getting frustrated and angry as Happy opened the door and climbed in._

"_This is kidnapping you know!" she just wanted to run. Instead she was sitting in the back of a limo with two men, one looking angry and the other just looking confused._

"_Call it what you want Ms. Potts but you are going to show us your back and then I'm going to find the guy who did it and beat the crap out of him, or at least have him do it," Tony spit out as he pointed at Happy. Happy was also now looking angry as he finally was caught up as to what was happening._

"_Now are you going to show us what's wrong with your back or are we going to have to do it ourselves?"_

_She knew Tony and she knew he was serious. She had no doubt that he would forcibly come over to her and pull her shirt up in the back to take a look._

"_There is no guy Mr. Stark, I promise," she was scared now and was starting to have a hard time breathing._

_Happy didn't know what to do so he settled for glaring at Tony hoping to convey that Tony should calm down._

_Fortunately Tony saw what his outburst had caused and rubbed his face with his hand in an effort to calm down._

"_Ms. Potts, we are just worried about you. Tell us what is wrong so we don't have to sit in this parking lot for the rest of the day. If you need medical attention…"_

"_Medical attention?!" she exclaimed and then looking at the two still serious faces across from her she started laughing as she shook her head back and forth, "this is so stupid," she said to no one in particular._

"_You want to know what's wrong? FINE!" she almost yelled it as she turned around on the seat so her back was mostly facing them, unbutton her two top buttons and push her collar down her neck in the back._

_They were both stunned by the sight until Tony, leaning forward slowly until his face was mere inches from her neck gave out a quiet, "Good God, Ms. Potts," as he slowly lifted his hands to touch her skin but then thought better of it._

_Happy was a little more vocal with his concerns with a loud, "Jesus Christ! What happened?"_

"_Ms…Pepper, this looks bad."_

"_I've had worse."_

"_Are you happy now? See it isn't an emergency and no one beat me up. It was me just being stupid and forgetting my sunscreen."_

_As she was speaking there had been some rustling behind her and a clicking noise._

_Pulling her shirt back up, which was excruciating, she buttoned the top two buttons and turned around, "what was that?" she asked._

"_Nothing, just Happy getting out of the car. I have just the thing for your back Ms. Potts. Cancel the board meeting, since we are already late now anyway," he noted as he glanced down at his watch, "we are headed back to the house where I will call the masseuse to come over and work her magic on your damaged skin and then you will take a nice cold bath."_

_Any other day she would have argued but at the moment she felt horrible and the thought of a cold bath was enough of a temptation for her to give in. "Fine Mr. Stark, back to the house," she said defeated._

"_And next time Ms. Potts, remember the sunscreen. Your skin is too beautiful to have it looking like that. Plus I hate to see you in any pain."_

_Her mouth almost fell open but she was quickly able to stop it. What she could not stop was the blushing that was starting to make the front of her neck as red as the back._

_Tony smirked at this and pulled out his phone, pretending to check his e-mail. He was really texting Happy telling him to forward the photo onto a dermatologist. Then he set about finding the number of the masseuse._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I hadn't realized it had looked that bad," she said to Tony as she studied the photo again.

"I'm just glad it never happened again," he stated still under the car. She could hear him banging on something repeatedly.

"Well, how could I ever let it happen again when you asked so nicely," she smiled as she remembered him calling her skin beautiful.

He must have remembered what he had said to because he got really quiet before deciding to change the subject.

"Could you come down here for a moment Ms. Potts? I need your hands again."

She smiled a little crooked smile at that, many things running through her mind at that comment. He seemed to be rubbing off on her.

"Coming Tony," she said in the sexiest voice she could find just to tease him.

There was a thump and then a yell from the basement at her words. When she found him a moment later he had a small lump on his forehead from dropping his wrench.


	6. Chapter 6

Anniversary –

"James, I think he is trying to kill me," Pepper stated with a sigh but a small smile on her lips.

"Oh, Virginia, you go through this every year. He is just trying to be nice."

"I know, I know. But you would think he would get it by now. I never have a good time. His ego is so big that he even put up pictures for each year, even 2006!"

"Oh, I remember that. You were barely keeping it together when you posed with me. Although in his defense he told me later that your ex-boyfriend told him you two were still going out, otherwise Tony wouldn't have invited him."

"I know, I guess I should just be happy he remembers something. You going to be home in time this year?"

"Sorry but I am stuck in-between sand dune number 5,323 and 5,324 for the foreseeable future. But I'll be calling in to say a few words."

"Okay," she said quietly. She hated it when James wasn't there. Either Tony didn't show up at all or he spent the night trying to hit on all her co-workers. And she really didn't have any other close friends besides him and James. Most years she spent the night trying to look busy in the kitchen.

"It will be alright. He is trying to be a better person, remember? He'll probably show up this time and I'll tell him to make sure he keeps you company."

"Thanks James."

"Bye Virginia," James said goodbye as his grainy picture faded from the wall as he broke the connection.

She got up to look at the photos. Some with good memories and some bad.

He would forget her Birthday, forget that she was taking vacation time no matter how many times she reminded him, even forget by lunch time that she had call in sick that morning but he never, ever forgot her anniversary – the day she stood in his office and shook his hand after her interview.

Each year it would get more and more outlandish and each year he would get more and more obnoxious.

It started off the first year with a nice dinner with her, him and the board of directors. Everyone telling her how much they appreciated her and how much she meant to the company with each giving her a nice present. Tony didn't hand her anything and she really didn't think about it until she opened her next paycheck and saw that he had given her a raise that pretty much doubled her salary. When she asked him about it, thinking it was some sort of accounting error he said something about her deserving hazard pay after putting up with him longer than any other assistant so far.

Each year after that it evolved into a bigger and bigger party at his home. He would either be out of town on business or he would attend, get extremely drunk and inevitably sleeping with one of her co-workers. After a while it looked as though it was really just a party for him even though he never asked her to help in the planning and the next day a ridiculously expensive gift would be waiting for her.

The last year was the worst with Tony being drunk before the party even started, sleeping with numerous co-workers while the party was going on and hunting her down only to grab her and jump in the pool with her. The night ended with Rhodey putting his coat around her after she got out of the pool and then him punching Tony in the face. The next day Tony woke up to find a resignation letter next to the diamond necklace that was his gift to her. They both knew that she wouldn't quit but they also both knew that it wasn't because he didn't deserve it.

She didn't know what he had planned for this year, but her anniversary was tomorrow and she was dreading coming into work the next day.

XXXXXXXXXX

This is how it always was. Tony would make sure that she would have to go into the office to do work there for the afternoon and then he would call around 5:30 or 6 with some "emergency" that involved her coming back to the house.

This year was no different as her cell phone rang at 5:47.

Pulling up to the house she noticed that the lights were off and there were no cars outside, but this wasn't unusual. Tony usually just had the guest's park in the garage and then when Pepper walked into the house JARVIS would turn the lights on, streamers and balloons would start flying around and everyone would yell "Surprise!"

She braced herself as JARVIS opened the front door for her. "Happy anniversary, Ms. Potts. It has once again been a pleasure working with you this past year," JARVIS remarked as he turned on the lights in the living room and…

nothing happened. No balloons, no streamers, no people she didn't real care about popping up from behind the couch.

She was relived but at the same time really curious as to what Tony was planning.

"Thank you JARVIS. Working with you is always the highlight of my day. Can you tell me where Tony is?"

"He is currently in the kitchen."

This was getting stranger and stranger she thought to herself as she wandered into the darkened kitchen.

Suddenly the lights came on in the kitchen and Tony jumped out from behind the counter and threw a streamer at her, being so close that it hit her in the side of the head before it could completely unravel.

"Tony! What the…" but before she could finish the doorbell rang.

"You better go see to your guests," Tony said with a mischievous look on his face.

This was a first, usually her guest were there before her.

Before she could even open the door fully she was scooped up in strong arms and swung around in a tight hug.

Once she was set back down she saw that it was James which made her hug him again and in turn made him swing her around again.

Tony had wandered back in the living room for the reunion and as usual was starting to get a little miffed that he wasn't the center of attention. "Hey, party planner over here!" he said loudly as Rhodey released Pepper and grabbed Tony in hug.

"So you knew you were coming home this whole time?" Pepper asked as she hit James in the arm.

"Ow Woman! Tony asked me to keep it a secret."

"Pepper, I know I can't make up to you all the years I acted like a complete jerk and ruined your anniversary but I am going to try and start this year by giving you what you want. Which, in talking to Rhodey here, is that you don't want a party. You never wanted the parties did you?"

"No," she said quietly, suddenly uncomfortable by his closeness.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" he asked with a small amount of hurt in his eyes.

"You were trying to be nice and I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"I was an ass 95% of the time and I deserved to get punched in the face on more than just the one occasion that I did."

"So," Tony continued deciding to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen on the group, "this year you are going to just get me and Rhodey's undivided attention. I bought your favorite pizza and ice cream and we are going to sit down and watch your favorite movies."

"Is there anything else you want or need?"

She looked shyly down at the floor noticing idly that James had a duffle bag in his hand and that Tony had no shoes on.

"Virginia. Come on – this is your evening," Rhodey encouraged her knowing how she always tried so hard to be professional around Tony even when the occasion didn't involve any work.

"I…can I change my clothes?" she finally managed to get out, looking down at her suit and 4 inch heels.

"Of course, we'll wait for you to go change unless you just want to borrow something," Tony offered even though he knew she would no doubt go home and change.

She opened her mouth to tell him she would be right back but noticed that James was glaring at her in a "don't make this harder than it has to be" way.

"Come on Virginia, we're all starving. Just borrow some sweats so we can all relax," James half ordered, half asked her. "I even brought my clothes over," he added pointing to the duffle bag.

"Okay, fine. You two win. Tony, can I borrow some sweats and a t-shirt?"

"Sure. Follow me," he motioned as they all headed toward the stairs. Rhodey disappearing into the first guest room he came to.

Pepper was trying to hide how uncomfortable she was standing in Tony's bedroom with just Tony but he didn't seem to notice and so far he hadn't leered or made a suggestive comment.

He was digging out a pair of pants from the back of his closet as he motioned to her what drawer held his t-shirts.

Finding just a simple black t-shirt that matched the one Tony was wearing she turned around to find Tony handing her a pair of small sweat pants.

She took them and put a hand on either side on the waist band, noticing that there was a small "MIT" logo next to the band.

She looked up at him and almost laughed.

"Not all of us can keep our girlish figure Ms. Potts," he said in a huff, actually looking hurt.

"Did you eat anything while you were in college?"

"Yes, mother," he said sarcastically, "do you want them or not?"

"Only if I get to keep them," she said trying to make amends and for some odd reason really wanting to keep them.

"I always knew you wanted to get into my pants Ms. Potts," he joked trying to figure out where this strange request had come from.

Instead of telling him to stop being inappropriate she just stood there and stared at him, seriously waiting for his response.

Stepping forward slowly, he reached his hand out to her face. "You can have whatever you want Pepper, you know that."

"Thank you," she said, "it's the best gift ever."

He chuckled slightly at that, letting his hand fall away. He would never understand her.

"You better change, the pizza is getting cold," he stated but made no move to leave the room.

He saw in her expression that she was struggling with kicking him out or just changing right there. Unfortunately for him the logical part of her head won out and he was unceremoniously pushed out of his own bedroom with the door slammed in his face.

He was happy she had to think about it though.

XXX

"Why does she do that?" Tony asked as he grabbed a slice of pizza after he wandered back down to the kitchen where Rhodey was already pulling out plates.

"Do what?"

"She acts different when you're here," Tony noted sullenly.

"She's just more comfortable with me," Rhodey stated matter a factly as he pulled some soda out of the frig.

"More comfortable! It's like she is a different person, like I don't even know her. And I've known her for longer than you have," Tony was getting irritated now, "what makes you so special?"

"First of all you know the same Virginia I know. She wouldn't lie by pretending to be someone else around you. She is still the organized, stubborn, bossy person we both know. She can be freer with me because she trusts me to not take advantage of it by, oh I don't know, making her uncomfortable."

"I make her uncomfortable?" Tony asked in a surprised and hurt voice.

To be continued…


End file.
